Trump lawyer says ex-president will not be handcuffed when he surrenders

NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump will not be handcuffed when he surrenders next week in New York to face criminal charges, under the terms of a deal agreed between his defense attorneys and Manhattan prosecutors, defense lawyer Joe Tacopina said on Friday.

Tacopina said in an interview that he expected the arrest otherwise to proceed as a matter of routine on Tuesday, when Trump is due to appear to face an indictment following a grand jury investigation of a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during Trump's 2016 campaign.

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A grand jury began hearing evidence about Trump's role in the payment to Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election that he ended up winning.

March 30, 2023 04:47 PM

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By  Luc Cohen / Reuters

"I don't know how all this is going to go down. There's no textbook to see how you arraign a former president of the United States in criminal court," Tacopina said.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office could not immediately be reached for reaction to Tacopina's comments.

Tacopina said Trump and his defense team were surprised by news of the indictment: "Initially we were all shocked. Didn't believe they were actually going to go through with this because there's no crime here."